Paintballing's a Great Way to Get a Girlfriend
by Fantasy3
Summary: Modern Fic: Racetrack goes paintballing for his brother's birthday, and he meets the girl he likes there. And, surprise surprise, he asks her out.


Disclaimer: I don't own Racetrack. I do own everyone else, though. And, obviously, I don't own the idea of paint-balling. Some cool person who is totally my hero does.  
  
A/N: I went paint-balling Saturday, and I had so much fun! So, I figured I'd try my first Newsies Modern-Day fic about it. Hope you enjoy!  
  
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"Look, there's the sign! We're here!" my little brother, Luke, shouted out excitedly. And, for all my complaining, I have to admit, I was excited, too. Even with getting stuck with a bunch of boys three years younger than me, paint-balling was paint-balling, and it was fun.  
  
That's right... I was going paint-balling. It was for my little brother's 13th birthday party, and I came along to help my dad keep them in line. My mom, of course, wasn't coming. She wouldn't like all the shooting at each other. She'd like the bruises even less. So, my dad got me to help, and asked a few of the kid's dads to come along, too.  
  
Two of them were supposed to come with us, but one of them ended up getting sick, which really wasn't good. If he didn't come, we'd only have 17 people, and that wouldn't be enough for a private group. So, last minute, his daughter said she'd come with and help. "I've always wanted to go," is what she said. And, lucky me, she was my age. Cute, too.  
  
I wondered why I'd never seen her before in school.  
  
But I really didn't think she had any idea what she was getting in to. So, when we parked and the boys all ran up to get their guns, masks, and ammo cases, I went up to talk to her.  
  
"Hey." Wow, I'm so creative.  
  
She smiled at me, dimples forming on both sides of her mouth. "Hey."  
  
"You ever gone paint-balling before?" I asked, figuring that'd be the best way to start a conversation.  
  
She shook her head. "I haven't, but I've wanted to for a while. I've heard all about it from one of my friends. Guess you get a lot of bruises when they hit you."  
  
I nodded, a little surprised at her calm tone. "Yeah... last time I came I got a big one of my hand." I smiled, remembering it. "I forgot to wear my gloves, so it only made it that much worse."  
  
She laughed. "Yeah, it probably would." She reached into her bag as we walked to the picnic tables under the trees. "I brought gloves, but look at them." She had pulled from her bag a pair of light pink gloves with roses on them. She looked a little embarrassed. "They're my mom's..."  
  
I grinned. "No big deal. Once you get out on the fields, it won't matter."  
  
"Good thing, too." She nodded to the case I was carrying. "Do you have your own gun?"  
  
I nodded. I was proud of my gun. It was a Tippman, but it shot really far, and it had a pretty good sized CO2 canister. "I got it for my birthday last year."  
  
"You go paint-balling that much?" She asked cursiously. All I could do was nod. "Well... I better go get my stuff, I'll be right back."  
  
I nodded and stood there for a little while until I realized I had to go and buy my paintballs. Hurriedly, I put my case and bag down on the table and ran to catch up with her. "I'll come with, I need to buy paintballs."  
  
She smiled at me again, and I was totally crushing. "So, Tony. How's summer going for you?"  
  
I blinked at the use of my real name. "Oh... you can call me Racetrack. Or Race, whichever you like better."  
  
She raised her eye brow, a smile playing across her lips. "Racetrack?"  
  
I shrugged. "It's a nickname my friends gave me."  
  
She nodded. "I like it. Seems to fit you."  
  
"You got a nickname, or do you just like to be called Maura?" I asked.  
  
She shook her head. "My friends call me Fantasy." She blushed a little at my weird look, and I immediately felt bad. "I-it's because I like to read fantasy books..." She trailed off, looking away.  
  
"I like it. So... you want me to call you Fantasy?" I asked.  
  
She turned to back to look at me, smiling slightly. "Yeah, that'd be good."  
  
"Well, Fantasy, my summer's been pretty good."  
  
"Same with me. It's been so busy, though. I've had camps and a bunch of other things."  
  
I nodded. "Same with me. I had to go to a baseball camp if I wanted to play again next year."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I've heard you're good." she asked.  
  
I nodded, surprised that she had said 'heard' I was good. Not that I wasn't good- first base, Varsity team, thank you very much. It's just that everyone knew about me. At my school, anyway. "Yeah."  
  
"That's what my friend said."  
  
I had no idea what to say. "Oh."  
  
"She goes to the public school, too. I was going to go to one of the games with her, but I wasn't able to. She talked about you a lot." She smirked.  
  
"Wait- you don't go to school with me?" She shook her head. Now I knew why I'd never seen her. "Where do you go?"  
  
"I go to a Catholic High School... all girls." She said, making a face. "It's fun, but I hardly meet any boys. Except the theater ones..."  
  
"You're into theater?" I asked.  
  
She nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I absolutely love it..."  
  
She started telling me about the different shows she had done while we waited to get our things after all the 12 and 13 year old boys. I have to say, I was surprised. I had always thought of actresses as big drama queens. Definitely not someone you would find at a paint-ball field.  
  
I let her get her things first, and she waited for me while I got my paintballs. I couldn't believe it, but I liked it. Maybe she liked me?  
  
Ha, right.  
  
I grabbed my box and carried it in both arms back to the table while she looked over her gun, grinning.  
  
"This is so cool, I can't wait." She looked over at me. "What do you do? Like, are there different games to play?"  
  
I nodded. "There's a lot of different ones. It depends on which field we go to play on."  
  
"Oh, so we only go to one of the fields?"  
  
"No. Well, one at a time, but we go to a bunch of different ones."  
  
"Oh, awesome! This'll be so much fun."  
  
"It is really cool."  
  
We were silent after that, while we loaded our guns and our ammo pouches with the small paint-balls. I was intent on pouring them into my gun when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I jumped a little and spilled a few of the balls onto the ground. When I looked up, I saw Fantasy standing there. I felt like hitting myself.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you drop any."  
  
"No, it's ok. It was only a few." I looked down at the balls I'd dropped, trying to hide my reddened face.  
  
"I was just wondering... I couldn't figure out how to put my ammo pouch on..." She sounded a little embarrassed, so I looked up and saw her face was a little red, too, which made me laugh.  
  
"Yeah, here, give it to me." She handed it over and I wrapped it around her waist, cursing my hormones.  
  
"Thanks. It wouldn't stay up when I tried to do it." She explained.  
  
"No problem." I said, and turned back to my gun. "Wait- you have a hat, right?"  
  
She nodded. "My dad told me what I should bring."  
  
"Ok, good. You'll need one."  
  
"Everyone, come around here, I'll read you the rules."  
  
I looked over to see that a worker, who would be our 'ref', had joined us.  
  
"Now, you have to have your safetys' at all times on this side of the fence." He said, pointing to the fence he was talking about. "Then you can take them off. Once you're on the other side of the fence, though, you have to have your mask on. That's a must. When you get hit and the ball breaks on you, call 'hit', and you're out for the rest of the game. If the ball doesn't break, you're still in. But remember, don't say 'hit' unless you're sure it broke, because once you say it, you're out no matter what. Got it?" He paused as we nodded. "Good. If you're not sure it popped or not, ask anyone near you, or you could ask me and I'll see if you were or not. Also, I'll have a rag in case you get shot on the mask and you can't see. Got that?" We all nodded again, and he smiled. "Then let's get going. One team on this side of the road, the other team on that side."  
  
I went over and read out the names of each team, and the kids all split up. I grinned when I got to Fantasy's name- she was with me. We went out to the field and played a couple games of "Speedball". It went really well, but it was already getting hot. When we went back to the tables to get something to drink, I caught up with Fantasy.  
  
"How'd you like it?"  
  
She pulled off her mask and wiped her face off before answering. "It was so cool! I liked it a lot."  
  
I couldn't help grinning at her. "Good! I wasn't sure if you would like it..."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. 'Cause I'm a girl?"  
  
I nodded. She got me there. "Yeah... sorry about that."  
  
"No, that's alright. I can see why you'd think that. I mean, look around! There's no other girls here at all."  
  
I laughed. "I didn't notice that, actually."  
  
"Yeah, well, I think it's fun."  
  
"It is fun."  
  
She smiled. "Hot, though."  
  
I shrugged. "Wait until later, it'll get hotter."  
  
"Oh, thanks. Now I have something to look forward to." She laughed and nodded at a cooler. "Can I take one?"  
  
"Yeah, my dad brought them for anyone."  
  
"Good, I'm thirsty!" We walked over and each grabbed a water bottle, then went to sit down and reload.  
  
After a while, we went back out to play in a different field. This one was one of my favorites; there were a ton of buildings we could hide in. Not to mention we played a good game; defend the embassy. See, one team defended one of the buildings, while the other team tried to get everyone out. It was always a good game, because you actually had to work as a team.  
  
Although, that was a lot easier when I was with my friends. Thirteen year olds are so immature.  
  
I didn't have much time to talk to Fantasy, though. She had gone on the other side of the building, and when we were walking back she was talking to her little brother. In fact, I didn't talk to her much while we were on the break, or during the next two games. We were always opposite each other. Which was not good for me. On the way back, though, I caught up with her. Finally.  
  
"Hey, been a while."  
  
She nodded, but didn't say anything.  
  
"So, do you still like it?"  
  
She nodded again, but still didn't say anything, so we walked the rest of the way in silence. Once we got past the fence and she pulled her mask off, however, she looked at me, frowning.  
  
"Nobody's shooting at me."  
  
"What?" Can you tell I was confused?  
  
"Well, they are, just not as much. And they always feel bad after... I mean, being a girl doesn't mean anything!"  
  
I nodded because I had no idea what to say. I mean, yeah, being the only girl was definitely something. I wouldn't shoot at her if I was on the other team. Not wanting to hurt 'cause I liked her might be the reason for that, but still.  
  
I walked to the picnic table with my case on it and was surprised that Fantasy didn't follow me. Instead, she walked over to the boys' table.  
  
"Umm... guys?" She waited until the all shut up and looked at her. "Not that I want to get hurt, but... don't be afraid to shoot at me. The whole point of the game is to shoot at the other team, right? So, don't feel bad about it. I'm fine with it."  
  
She gave them a smile and walked back to our table. Definitely wasn't expecting that. And I told her that.  
  
She just shrugged, grinning. "I just want to play the game right."  
  
I laughed and we got ready to go out again. This time, we were going back to the field with all the buildings. You know, my favorite one. We were playing capture the flag.  
  
Again, me and Fantasy split up, going on different sides of the sidewalk and into different buildings to guard our flag (we got it in before the other team). I was in the building with my little brother, and she was in the one right across from it by herself.  
  
I was a little surprised; no one was shooting or going for the flag, which I never thought would happen. And then, all of a sudden, paintballs come shooting out of the bushes next to my building, the bushes and trees next to Fantasy's building, and the building on the other side of Fantasy's. And they were all being aimed at her. I frowned, then whirled on my brother when I heard him laughing.  
  
"Luke, what are your stupid friends doing?"  
  
"They thought it'd be funny if they all ganged up on Maura. I mean, she did tell us to shoot at her."  
  
"Was it your idea?" I asked, glaring at him.  
  
He shook his head. "No, it was her brother's... why're you so mad? I thought you would find it funny."  
  
"Well, I don't."  
  
He started to laugh again and I wanted to strangle him.  
  
"You've got a crush on her, Tony!"  
  
I choose to ignore him and instead turned my attention to the pain-balls still flying in a steady stream into Fantasy's building. I shot at the bushes next to me and caught the five kids in there by surprise... meaning, I got them all out. Then I aimed for the bushes across from me, but I couldn't see anyone. I glared at Luke one last time, then ran out the building. Crouching down low, I headed toward her building, but nobody shot at. I jumped up, frowning, and ran towards the other building.  
  
"Stop shooting the damn balls at her!" I shouted. I don't think they heard me, though. That, or they just ignored me. When I reached the building, I ran through the doorway and saw her sitting in a corner where she was safe from the fire coming at her.  
  
"You ok?" I asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. I can't believe I didn't get hit, though. I mean, I did get hit, but none of them broke."  
  
"Would've been better if they did. They'd stop shooting at you, then."  
  
I heard her laugh. "I asked for it."  
  
I grinned. "You kinda did, didn't you?"  
  
She laughed again. "We gotta get them out. You take that window, I got this one."  
  
I nodded and crawled over to the window closest to me and stood up, keeping out of sight until I had my gun ready, then I shot at the stupid kids in the building next to ours.  
  
"I got one!" She shouted. "Ooo, two! Ha, and that was my brother."  
  
Again, I laughed and chanced a glance over at her.  
  
And I got an urge to go over and kiss her.  
  
But I totally couldn't do that right now. "Shit."  
  
She glanced over at me. "Did you get hit?"  
  
"Oh... no." I said. "It's nothing."  
  
The game finally ended, and we finally left the building to walk back to the picnic tables. Once we got past the fence and took our masks off, she joined her brother.  
  
"Thanks for the paint-balls, Jimmy."  
  
Jimmy grinned at her. "Thought you'd like 'em. Thanks for getting me out."  
  
"Hey, you deserved." She said, laughing.  
  
Weird. She wasn't even mad at her brother. What's even weirder, is it made me like her more.  
  
And so, I decided to do something about it. She had walked over to our table, and I followed her.  
  
"Hey." She said. "Thanks for that."  
  
She didn't even have to say, I knew what she was talking about.  
  
"No problem. Look-" I paused. This was harder than I'd hoped, and so before I lost my courage, I spoke up. "Woulyougooutwitme?"  
  
"What?"  
  
I sighed. "Would... would you go out with me?" She looked surprised. Damn it, she would say no. I turned away and started to reload my gun. "Never mind."  
  
"No- I mean, I'd like that."  
  
"What?" I spun around, spilling half of my paintball bag onto the ground.  
  
She grinned at me. "Yes, I'll go out with you."  
  
"You will?" Never would have guessed. I can't tell you how surprised I was. I mean, I actually asked her out. That happens umm... NEVER. And she said yes. Whoa.  
  
She laughed. "Yeah."  
  
That's when I realized I was probably acting like a real dork. "Oh... well, good." Shoot, she looked embarrassed. What to say... "Look, I'm really sorry about this. I'm just surprised... I didn't think I'd ask."  
  
"Neither did I." I frowned, and she quickly added, "But I'm glad you did."  
  
"So am I."  
  
She smiled and nodded. "I've never had a boyfriend before."  
  
"Me neither. Well, I haven't had a girlfriend..." I'm such an idiot. But she laughed at me, and that made me smile.  
  
"Private game on the road!" the Ref shouted.  
  
"We better get going, then." She said, picking up her gun.  
  
Damn, that urge to kiss her again. "Wait." She turned around to look at me and I leaned closer and kissed. And oh MAN, I've never felt that before. I don't know how long we kissed, but I pulled back after a while.  
  
"Whoa." I cleared my throat.  
  
She nodded. "Whoa."  
  
I looked away from her and noticed all of my brother's friends around us, cheering us on. "Didn't realize we had an audience."  
  
She laughed at that.  
  
Man, I loved that laugh.  
  
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Haha, that turned out so different than I meant it to. I guess I like it, 'cause it's about paint-balling. Ah, well, I tried. 


End file.
